Referee Andrea Piardi had a brilliant game in the URC final, despite the comments of Bulls coach
Owen Doyle: Referees must handle outside pressure from South Africa for Ireland TestsIn contrast, the coming Irish Tests will lack nothing in intensity. In fact, be prepared for high-octane physicality, all of which must stay within the laws on foul play. There is, though, an unwelcome tone to some of the comments coming from South Africa just now.
Overall, the referee came out of the match fairly well, making some strong decisions both in the scrum and in sending Aphelele Fassi to the sinbin for a bunker review. These calls did not please the punditry team, led by former ‘Boks coach Nick Mallett. In this role, he rarely sees anything wrong with South African play.They expressed shock and horror that the stronger South African scrum had been penalised. For a long time they have generated penalties legally – but also illegally.
There were too many stoppages, and we certainly got TMO overload. A scoring pass, clearly forward, got the okay from TMO Mark Patton, who then called another one forward which actually looked straight enough. Several foul plays were also called in, resulting in “penalty only” decisions. I don’t think we need these intrusions.
Fast and effective in attack, they ending up scoring three tries to one, and winning the second half by 14-3. And what of the defence, it was as tight as a drum; particularly a masterclass in maul defending, which was vital to the victory.
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